WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: DereKimchi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Abandoned Tank is a Disaster-class Awakener ◈
Chapter 50
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La Mortaja.
Before my regression, there was nowhere that did not know that name.
Back when humanity needed even one more Awakener capable of enduring the disasters bestowed by the Tower, they put prices on those Awakeners.
How much would it take to recruit them?
How much would it take to kill them?
The Relics and consumables humanity had gathered to survive were used as payment for assassinations.
And now those bastards had even reached for my people.
Setting everything else aside, that was something I could not tolerate.
Grip.
I tightened my hold on the handle of the Black-Iron Greatsword resting on my shoulder.
What I would cut down today was not a monster from the Tower.
It was humans who had chosen to become monsters themselves.
“Fire! Fire!”
Shouts erupted around me.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Muzzle flashes flared from the watch posts on both sides.
Whoosh.
I swept the Black-Iron Greatsword once.
Clatter!
The bullets caught in the gust of wind fell to the floor.
At the same time.
Boom!
I moved in an instant and stood before the iron door leading into the hideout.
I lowered the Black-Iron Greatsword and drew it back behind my right hip.
Whoosh!
The iron door was cut cleanly in two.
Crash! Boom!
Beyond the collapsed door lay a dark tunnel.
Rusty rails and abandoned mine carts.
From the outside, it looked like nothing more than an old facility attached to a quarry.
But this was the headquarters of the criminal organization known as La Mortaja.
A place completely unknown to the public.
But I knew.
Before my regression, when Awakeners from every country joined forces to subjugate La Mortaja, I had led the subjugation force.
It had taken a long time to find them.
Every captured member knew something different, and whenever we reached a hideout we had uncovered, it was often already empty.
This quarry was found by reading the reports that had piled up and comparing the testimonies of captured executives.
Even while they moved their other bases countless times, they never abandoned this place.
Their most secret hideout, one that had escaped searches across the world.
Remembering the past, I followed the rails.
A fork appeared ahead.
The right passage was lit, while the left was dark.
Without hesitation, I entered the left passage.
Then.
Fwoooosh.
The shadow beneath my feet lengthened slightly.
The light was clearly behind me.
Yet the shadow was approaching from the side.
“...”
The next moment.
Boom!
I stomped down with force.
“Urk!”
An Awakener hiding in the shadow coughed up blood and was slammed into the ground.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Black blades sprang up from the floor all around me.
But.
Clang, clatter!
Shell.
The tips of the blades struck the shield and bounced away.
“...!”
The moment their arms flew up in surprise.
Whoosh.
The Black-Iron Greatsword drew a black line.
Thud. Thud.
Heads separated from their bodies rolled across the ground.
After cutting down those who stood in my way in an instant, I reached a dead end at the far end of the tunnel.
Drip.
Water fell from the ceiling.
I could feel the damp chill and smell the stone.
Had I taken the wrong path?
‘No.’
I walked toward the wall ahead.
After three steps.
Thrust!
I drove the greatsword in.
“Argh!”
A short scream burst out from inside the stone wall.
Fizzle!
When I pulled out the sword, the wall distorted.
The blocked tunnel revealed itself again.
Thud.
At its center, a woman clutching a staff collapsed.
Hum.
The instant I took another step, patterns appeared on both the floor and ceiling.
A transparent wall blocked the passage.
And it did not end with one.
Light spread behind me and along both sides.
The sealed barrier began to close in, leaving no room to escape.
They intended to crush me to death with that unknown power.
But.
“Hup!”
I raised the greatsword and brought it down in front of me.
Boom!
The wall of light shook violently.
Cracks spread all the way to the ceiling.
I stepped forward and pushed the sword onward.
Crack!
The barrier burst apart.
“Urk!”
“Cough!”
Five enemies behind the wall coughed up blood at once.
Slash.
The greatsword drew a semicircle and cut the bodies of the incapacitated enemies in two.
The patterns remaining on the floor went dark.
But the attacks did not end.
A mine cart rose into the air.
Its rusty iron wheels spun uselessly in midair.
Rumble!
Then the mine cart flew toward me, scraping against the tunnel walls.
I swung my sword.
Boom!
The mine cart split in half and crashed into both sides.
A man standing between the halves stretched out both arms.
Rumble!
This time, an invisible force pressed down on my shoulders.
The gravel beneath my feet was pushed aside.
The bastard gritted his teeth.
“Graaah!”
Watching his desperate struggle, I took a step forward.
Thud.
My footprint sank deep into the ground.
On my next step, his arms trembled.
The metal supports embedded in the tunnel creaked.
Stone fragments rose all around me.
Then they launched from the floor.
Boom!
The force holding my body was pushed backward.
“...!”
His eyes widened.
Before he could even lower his arms, the greatsword came down.
Slice.
The floating stones all fell to the ground at once.
“...”
The passage fell quiet.
* * *
“There is one intruder.”
Escobar, an executive of La Mortaja, did not leave their seat even after hearing the report.
The screen on Escobar’s desk showed the destroyed front gate.
The man in black armor standing before it was the famous Kang Seong-un.
Escobar pulled the screen closer.
“What about forces following him?”
“There are none. He came in alone.”
A smile formed on Escobar’s lips.
Escobar did not know how Kang Seong-un had found this place.
But entering alone was clear arrogance and a mistake.
The tunnels were hunting grounds La Mortaja had spent a long time preparing.
Knowing the way was not enough to escape.
Those caught in illusions wandered around the same crossroads, and when the barriers closed, even allies standing right beside each other could not see one another.
The assassins in the darkness dealt with those who became separated.
The shadows on the floor.
The gaps in the ceiling.
Even the empty space behind their backs.
Blades waited wherever an intruder could set foot.
“Pull back the outer personnel. Let him get deep enough into the tunnels.”
The subordinate standing beside Escobar looked at Escobar.
“The opponent is Kang Seong-un.”
“Exactly.”
Escobar pointed at the greatsword on the screen.
“This is our chance to take that for ourselves.”
The subordinate’s gaze also turned to the sword.
The greatsword, armor, and shield.
Their exact capabilities were unknown, but they were surely Relics of enormous value.
But Escobar wanted something else.
‘His power.’
How he had obtained that power.
While others risked their lives to climb a single floor, that man had been breaking clear records and even eliminating Abysses.
There had to be something.
Whether it was a hidden Relic or an unknown method of growth.
If they captured him, they could find out.
Escobar was accustomed to dealing with those who endured without speaking.
“Tell them it doesn’t matter if he loses an arm or a leg. Just make sure he stays alive.”
The subordinate raised a radio.
But static burst from it first.
「Zone 1 breached!」
Escobar furrowed their brow.
“Already?”
“We will stop him in Zone 2. Deploying the barriers...”
Boom!
The roar drowned out the voice.
Escobar held out a hand.
Escobar took the radio from the subordinate and brought it to their mouth.
“Report the situation. Where is the intruder?”
「The barrier has been destroyed! He is heading deeper...」
Crackle!
The transmission cut off.
“Respond.”
Only static returned.
Escobar stared down at the radio.
The equipment appeared to have been damaged.
Just as Escobar was about to think that, another voice came through.
「Zone 3! We can’t...」
Escobar’s hand tightened.
“What? What nonsense are you...”
「Aaargh!」
A brief scream.
Then static again.
Escobar slowly rose from their seat.
“Close the inner door! He has already...!”
Thud!
The sound had not come only from the radio.
“...!”
Escobar turned toward the door.
A faint vibration traveled through the floor.
“What about the final defensive line?”
The subordinate changed channels.
The subordinate repeated the same call several times.
But no one answered.
Escobar pressed a button beneath the desk.
Blue patterns spread across the iron door.
It was a door made from metal brought from the Tower and reinforced with dozens of Relics.
This one would hold.
They could escape through the emergency passage while it did.
“Contact headquarters. Tell them we cannot stop the intruder.”
“Where are you going?”
Escobar did not answer.
Escobar walked around the desk and placed a hand on the wall.
As Escobar was about to press the hidden mechanism, a voice came through the radio.
「At the door...」
Escobar’s hand stopped.
Boooom!
The center of the iron door exploded.
The blue patterns tore apart, and metal fragments poured into the room.
Whoosh!
A black greatsword flew through them.
Escobar tried to grab the Relic hanging around their neck.
Before Escobar’s hand could reach it.
Thump!
An impact struck Escobar’s chest.
It did not end there. Escobar’s body was thrown backward.
Boom!
Escobar’s back struck the wall.
Escobar tried to breathe in, but no air came.
Escobar lowered their head.
The greatsword piercing Escobar’s chest was embedded deep into the wall behind them.
Escobar’s feet did not touch the floor.
Thud.
The radio slipped from Escobar’s hand.
Footsteps sounded beyond the broken iron door.
Step.
Kang Seong-un, clad in black armor, approached and grabbed the handle of the greatsword piercing Escobar’s chest.
Then he pulled it out without hesitation.
Escobar’s body collapsed to the floor.
It had taken less than three minutes for La Mortaja’s main base to be breached.
* * *
I entered the deepest part of the quarry.
The moment I passed through the final door, I felt the texture beneath my feet change.
A thick carpet.
Paintings hung on the walls, and soft light poured from a chandelier on the ceiling.
It was a lavish room, so luxurious that the dust from the tunnel did not belong there.
And at its center, a man sat in a chair.
A middle-aged man with white mixed into his hair at the temples.
His swept-back hair, thick eyebrows, and a scar running across his jaw stood out.
A gold necklace hung around the thick neck exposed through his shirt.
The man leaned back in his leather chair and looked at me.
“You made it this far.”
He set his cigar down in the ashtray and raised the corner of his mouth.
“Just as the rumors say...”
I did not listen any further.
I stepped forward and brought down my sword.
The blade stopped in midair.
It was a space where illusions and barriers overlapped, giving substance to a false landscape.
Before my regression, several people had died simply trying to uncover its structure.
But now.
Crack.
A thin fracture spread across the man’s face from my strike.
The crack crossed the desk and carpet, climbed the wall, and reached the ceiling.
Then I pressed down with the sword.
Crash!
The world shattered.
The chandelier broke into pieces, and the wall holding the paintings split apart.
The man and chair scattered like shards of glass.
Another room was revealed beyond the spilling light.
Rough rock walls.
A light bulb hanging from the low ceiling.
Old tiles covered the floor instead of carpet.
It was a modest room containing only one desk and several chairs.
An elderly person sat inside.
Sparse white hair.
A scrawny neck visible beneath a loose cardigan, eyes buried in deep wrinkles.
Age spots covered the hands folded in their lap.
They looked as though they would struggle to stand without someone supporting them.
The elder looked down at the ring on their thin finger.
Clatter.
The cracked gem crumbled and fell.
It was the Relic that had allowed them to maintain the barriers and illusions from before at the same time.
“To think you saw through even this... You do not even leave an old soul a place to hide.”
“...”
That face was familiar.
Gaspar Salazar.
An elder who spent each day supported by the organization’s members.
The elder in the back room who greeted anyone who came calling with a few coughs and a weak smile.
But Gaspar’s true identity was the real owner of this organization.
“You even prepared a separate face to put before your guests.”
At my words, Gaspar slowly raised their head.
“It seems... you came here knowing who I am. You are a thorough young person.”
Gaspar’s gaze shifted past my shoulder.
To the open door and the empty corridor beyond it.
Gaspar looked that way for a moment, then looked back at me.
“The children outside... Did you leave none of them alive?”
“...”
“Yes, of course you did not.”
Gaspar nodded.
Gaspar did not look sorrowful.
Instead, a smile slowly returned to Gaspar’s previously stiff lips.
“You have worked hard getting here. You even cleaned things up for this old soul.”
Gaspar raised one hand.
Fwoooosh.
Black energy flowed between their skeletal fingers.
“Now I should let you rest as well. I will help you rise again.”
Boom!
The wall on the right shook.
The light embedded in the rock wall swayed.
Boom! Boom!
This time, it came from the left.
Something was approaching from beyond the wall.
Crushing rocks and breaking supports.
At last, Gaspar curled a finger.
Rumble!
The wall collapsed.
A black arm thrust out from the pile of rubble.
It was a thick arm covered in metal, belonging to the enhancer I had cut down earlier.
The bastard braced himself against the wall and forced his body through.
Black energy tangled in the split in his chest.
The wound remained open, but there was no hesitation in his movements.
The wall on the opposite side burst apart as well.
A headless man walked out holding a dagger.
Behind him came a man with a pierced chest and another missing an arm.
They were faces I had brought down in the tunnels.
Corpses also poured in through the open door.
The sound of dragging feet and blade tips scraping across the floor filled the room.
“...”
The dead gathered beside Gaspar and formed ranks.
At the front stood the one with the metal body.
Behind him stood those carrying weapons.
On either side, those gathering mana at their fingertips lined up.
A shadow spread beneath the feet of the headless assassin.
Flames bloomed in the hand of the woman whose chest had been split open.
An undead legion given both the abilities they had possessed in life and the powers of death.
“You killed quite a few.”
Gaspar looked at me over the shoulders of the corpses.
“Those who could not even earn their keep when they were alive... thanks to you, they have finally become useful.”
Gaspar lowered their hand.
Clack, clack, clack.
The dead raised their weapons toward me in unison.
Gaspar Salazar, master of the dead.
Before my regression, Gaspar had been another Disaster who had pushed the La Mortaja subjugation force to the brink of annihilation.
Gaspar was... a Necromancer who controlled the dead.
However.
‘For now, Gaspar is only the seed of a Disaster that has not properly grown.’
I knew it all.
That Gaspar was a Disaster.
That those I killed would rise again.
That Gaspar would fight using them as shields.
In the past, it had taken the lives of several people to break through that legion.
But the me of that time did not have the strength I had built after regressing, nor did I possess the Black-Iron Armament I had now.
『Giantification』
Thud!
My field of vision rose.
My limbs thickened, and my shoulders broadened.
The Black-Iron Armor expanded with my growing body, making heavy sounds.
I could see Gaspar beyond the heads of the undead.
The elder lifted their chin slightly.
“The bigger you get, the more places there are to hit.”
Gaspar’s skeletal finger pointed at me.
“Kill him.”
The dead moved all at once.
The one covered in metal charged from the front.
Shadows stretched beneath my feet, while flames and broken stones rose above my head.
The attack began.
But even as I watched it, I did not move.
My preparations were not over yet.
『Black Knight』
Click.
Metal locked together at the center of my chest.
The sound traveled through my shoulders, arms, and waist.
Click. Clack!
Red light leaked from the joints of the Black-Iron Armament.
Grrrrk!
The overlapping armor closed its gaps and tightened around my entire body.
Black iron rose along the back of my neck and covered my chin, while the helmet’s visor locked shut in front of my face.
My vision narrowed.
Red light spread through the gap.
Fwoooosh.
Something unfurled behind my back.
A blood-red cape.
The red cloth flowing down the black armor touched the floor.
Then it was caught by the mana surging from within and fluttered violently.
All parts of the Black-Iron Armament +5.
Black Knight, the set effect unlocked when every piece had been enhanced.
【Black Knight: All Stats +30%
While in the Black Knight state, Health can be consumed to use Blood Energy.
Health continuously decreases while maintaining the Black Knight state.】
Grip.
The power filling my body swelled in an instant.
Metal creaked beneath the hand gripping the greatsword’s handle.
Light.
The shield.
The greatsword.
Even the armor surrounding my entire body.
I slowly raised my head.
The red light within my helmet reached Gaspar.
“...”
The smile vanished from Gaspar’s lips.
Clang!
The blade of an approaching undead scraped against the shield.
Only small sparks flew from it.
No attack could pierce the shield created by Shell.
“Now it is my turn.”
What was given had to be returned.
I held the greatsword flat at my side.
Flap!
The cape behind me billowed wide.
The hem of the blood-red cloth stretched over my shoulder and forward.
It wrapped around my right arm as if it were alive, then flowed along the handle of the greatsword to its blade.
Red energy spread across the black blade.
The cape wrapping the blade flickered like flames.
Red light overflowing from the tip swept over the floor.
Crack.
A thin line appeared in the tile it touched.
I adjusted my grip on the sword.
The undead were charging from the front.
Layers of raised weapons and tangled bodies.
Gaspar stood beyond them.
Thud.
I stepped forward with my left foot.
Turning at the waist, I swung the greatsword.
As though shaking off all the red energy wrapped around its blade.
Booooom!
A blood-red flash swept through the room.
The weapons raised by the front line broke all at once.
The bodies behind them split apart.
But the red trajectory did not stop.
It passed through the second line and swept through the third.
The undead trying to withstand it were torn away along with the tiles beneath their feet.
Gaspar raised their hand.
Crack!
Bones surged up between the corpses.
But they had no time to interlock.
Crunch!
White fragments were swept away by the red energy.
A long sword mark stretched all the way to the rear wall.
Rumble!
The entire tunnel screamed from that single strike.
I slowly lowered my extended sword.
Fwoooosh.
The red energy remaining on the blade dispersed.
The cape flowing past my shoulder fluttered long behind me again.
Thud. Boom!
The charging undead legion collapsed belatedly, and a path opened through the center of the space that had filled my vision.
“...!”
Gaspar rose from their seat, eyes wide with disbelief.
Yes, before my regression, Gaspar had certainly been a being worthy of being called a Disaster.
But to me now, this old Necromancer was not a threat. Gaspar was nothing more than something lighter than dust.
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